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	a, Evergreen and deciduous grasses
	With pruning in mind there are really two types of grasses; the evergreens with foliage that stays alive all year, and the deciduous whose growth dries to a beige brown but stands the winter. Most work is done in the spring so it is fairly easy to tell which is which but if unsure our online plant descriptions will have the answer.

	b, Tools you may need
	Pruning grasses can be done by a variety of different tools as seen here. None are really better than the others it is a question of personal convenience though with larger areas mechanical or electrical trimmers do make the job quicker!

	c, When to cut deciduous grasses
	All forms of deciduous grass are best cut back in the spring, about March depending on the weather; ideally just as the new shoots are coming through. Just like lawns cutting new growths along with the old will not harm the plant.

	d, Cutting back old stems
	When cutting back last years growth it is ideal to cut as close to ground level as practical leaving plenty of room for the new shoots to grow through quickly

	e, Bare ground and new shoots
	Just after the grasses have been cut back is the least interesting time, however early season plants like the poppies are already beginning to appear and it isnt long before the ground is covered with fresh green growth from the grasses.

	f, Raking evergreens
	The easy bit about evergreens is that they can need little looking after for the first few seasons however a quick rake through or tidy in spring is always good to remove the worst of the old leaves and flowers as with this Stipa tenuissima.

	g, Cutting back evergreens
	After a few seasons evergreen can look a little tired in spite of raking out the worst of the old foliage. This is the time to cut back all the old growth but must be done in the spring or early summer when the plant is actively growing.

	h, Making a hedgehog
	Cutting back especially for plants like this Festuca Elijah Blue can be quite hard, creating a hedgehog of cut back stems which will begin re-shooting almost within a matter of days.

	i, Strawy Tops
	With some evergreens like this Anemanthele lessoniana (also known as Stipa arundinacea), they can get relatively strawy on top after a few seasons and can be cut back, but this must be done when the plant is actively growing in spring or early summer.

	j, After trimming back
	This group of Anemanthele lessoniana has just been trimmed back; cutting off about half the old growth which stimulates new shoots to come from the base. It is possible to cut lower down in favoured areas.

	k, New plants by seed
	Anemanthele lessoniana will seed if happy as in this picture; where the new seedlings will eventually take over from the original plant which can then be removed.

	l, Dividing grasses
	Depending on the type of grass, short or long lived, they can be divided every so often to keep then young and fresh. Here a miscanthus which is a long lived grass has been lifted after about 7 years in the ground showing its healthy fibrous root system.

	m, Making new
	This miscanthus did not actually need dividing yet but has been lifted and split in half to make more. Plants of this size could probably be slit into 4 but it would be a mistake to divide into too small a pieces. Spring is the ideal time for division just as the plants are waking up.